When Ethel Mortenson Davis and I created this site while we lived in New Mexico, we did so partially to make sure that we had a creative place to not only showcase some of the poetry and art we have both produced throughout our lifetimes but to also honor our son, Kevin Michael Davis. Kevin had died in Poughkeepsie New York where he was a web designer for Vassar College after a short struggled against aggressive cancer. While we put this blog together, we were both still in the throes of grieving and trying to deal with Kevin’s loss.
Now, Bennison Books, a publisher in Great Britain, has come out with a new anthology, Leaving, an anthology of poetry about dying, grief, and the mystery of absence. The anthology features poems by both Ethel and I as well as some of the finest poets writing anywhere, Cynthia Jobin, John Looker, and A. Carder. As the forward to this magnificent volume says,
Both the grueling reality of dying and its indefinable mystery are revealed in this diverse collection. Grief is tranformative; we are profoundly changed by it. It is also prismatic, imposing new insights, a wider breadth of vision.
The new anthology is available at https://www.amazon.com/Leaving-anthology-poetry-mystery-absence/dp/1999740831/ref=sr_1_1?crid=S3YX5MBBHIVN&keywords=Leaving+Bennison+Books&qid=1699623562&s=books&sprefix=leaving+bennison+books%2Cstripbooks%2C104&sr=1-1
fourwindowspress 
Grief does change you–and truly never really goes away. It just recedes. Good luck with your book!
Thank you, Linda. We were invited to submit the poems in this. Bennison is a British publisher that donates all the proceeds for their book sales to charity. How are you doing? Ethel and I so enjoyed visiting with you guys in Delta.
We enjoyed seeing you (Both) very much! A really nice treat!
I think we all owe a debt of gratitude, Tom, to you and Ethel for sharing the poems you wrote at the time of your son’s death. You must have felt so raw, rereading these as you prepared them for this anthology. They do, however, speak to us all – and will speak directly to anyone who currently is grieving. So, thank you both.
Congratuations to the poets involved! Even though the topic is pretty raw.
It is a wonderful collection. Beautiful and heartbreaking.